Having healthy, biblical boundaries with women you are caring for can be a hard thing to implement. But it is so important to have that right balance. Often times we lean on the side of selfishness and don’t pour ourselves out to others when that’s the very thing that would make a difference in their lives. Other times we play a role in someone’s life that is too outstretched and the very care we hoped to offer them ends up hurting them.
It is always important to remember that we are not anyone’s savior. Only Jesus saves. Everything we do should display Christ and draw people to Him, but only He can transform their hearts and lives. If we keep this in perspective, it frees us to love and share with others in an extravagant way, knowing that the pressure is not on us to perform or bring any result.
Seek the Lord in how you are to love someone who is coming to you for direction or discipleship. Every person has their own unique personality, their own needs and struggles, a different background, and a specific plan that God has for their life. Boundaries look different with each relationship. That doesn’t mean it has to be complicated!
Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burden’s and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” The Greek word for burden in this verse means heaviness, trouble, or something burdensome. This helps us to know God’s will for how we are to minister to others. He made it that we would need one another. One of the best ways to demonstrate who Christ is to someone is to meet them in their struggles. To love and care for them in the midst of their trouble. We are to help bear each other’s burdens.
Now look only a couple verses later in Galatians 6:5. It says, “For each one should carry their own load.” The Greek word for load in this verse means an obligation, portion, or the load that is carried by a freight or ship. This tells us that God has called us to be productive and responsible in the life that He gives us. We all have our own load to carry because we have specific plans God has ordained for our lives. We should never do something for someone that they should do for themselves. And we should never try to do something that only God can do.
For women who have been exploited by the sex industry, they have already been stripped of dignity. Many of them don’t realize a purpose for their lives. They feel powerless and directionless. We should help them with their burdens but never take away their load. You should never try to do everything for them. Rather, empower them through encouragement by the Grace of God to do ALL that God has made them to do! Challenge them to rise above their circumstances and to be a worker in God’s Kingdom. This restores dignity and purpose! Your relationship with them may be the first time they’ve experienced a healthy relationship with healthy boundaries. Ministry will be much more effective when the right boundaries are in place.
